Brookline Future

The forecast

Brookline's finances to 2040

Brookline's finances can stay healthy through 2040. A few recurring decisions matter more than anything else, and new building makes the picture stronger, not weaker.

An independent forecast of the Town's General Fund through FY2040: the decisions that decide it, what new homes and businesses add, and an explorer for testing every assumption. It is my own analysis, built from the Town's budgets and state data, and not an official Town document.

Read the forecast

Line chart of the Town's yearly revenue and spending in the base case, FY2027 to FY2040. Both rise from about $415 million in FY2027; by FY2040 revenue reaches about $667 million and spending about $655 million, with revenue above spending every year. — Revenue stays ahead of spending in the base case. The shading is the room for decisions.

Also here

Maps

Where Brookline's property value sits, parcel by parcel, and where its growth in value came from between FY2009 and FY2026.

Writing

Essays and analyses on the Town's future: how we got here, the state of things today, and how we might chart a sustainable and thriving future.

My name is Ben Chostner

I moved here with my family in 2024 after concluding Brookline offered the best combination of great schools, walkability, green spaces, and community. Professionally I advise robotics businesses and outside of work love playing with my 2 kids.

I was elected in 2026 as a Precinct 9 Town Meeting Member because I'm motivated to keep Brookline thriving for my children and our whole community.

Learn more about me, or email me: .